Forestry Department

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Forest Plantations Thematic Papers
NON-FOREST TREE PLANTATIONS
Based on the work of
W. Killmann
Director, Forest Products Division
Forestry Department, FAO, Rome Italy
Edited by D. J . Mead
April 2001
Forest Resources Development Service Working Paper FP/6
Forest Resources Division FAO, Rome (Italy)
Forestry Department
2




Disclaimer
The Forest Plantation Thematic Papers report on issues and activities in forest plantations as
prepared for FRA 2000. These working papers do not reflect any official position of FAO.
Please refer to the FAO website (http://www.fao.org/forestry) for official information.
The purpose of these papers is to provide early information on on-going activities and
programmes, and to stimulate discussion.
Comments and feedback are welcome.
For further information please contact:
Mr. J im Carle, Senior Forestry Officer (Plantations and Protection),
Forest Resources Development Service
Forest Resources Division
Forestry Department
FAO
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla
I-00100 Rome (Italy)
e-mail: J [email protected]
For quotation:
FAO (2001).Non-forest tree plantations. Report based on the work of W. Killmann. Forest
Plantation Thematic Papers, Working Paper 6. Forest Resources Development Service, Forest
Resources Division. FAO, Rome (unpublished).
3
CONTENTS
Page
1. Introduction 4
2. The rubber tree 4
2.1 The rubber plantation resource 4
2.2 Present status of the rubber plantation resource 5
2.3 The economic and social importance of rubberwood 6
2.4 Outlook for rubberwood 8
3. The coconut palm 8
3.1 The coconut resource 8
3.2 Present status of the coconut resource 9
3.3 The economic and social importance of coconut wood 9
3.4 Outlook for coconut wood 11
4. The African oil palm 12
4.1 The oil palm resource 12
4.2 Present status of the oil palm resource 13
4.3 The economic and social importance of oil palm fibres 13
4.4 Outlook for oil palm products 14
5. Conclusions 14
References 15
4
1 INTRODUCTION
Some non-forestry tree plantations established by the agricultural rather the forestry sector,
are of increasing importance for the supply of industrial fibres. The three main species of
potential interest are rubber, coconut and oil palm. A number of other tree crops, sometimes
used in agroforestry systems, are usually of greater importance to local people for the supply
of domestic roundwood or woodfuel than for industrial use these are not covered in this
report.
The reported area of these three species is about one-third of forest plantation area in the
tropics and subtropics. In the case of rubber and coconut the planted areas of each of these
species rival the area of eucalypt plantations.
2 THE RUBBER TREE
2.1 The rubber plantation resource
The rubber tree, Hevea brasiliensis Muell. Arg is indigenous to the Amazon basin. During the
nineteenth century, Brazil was the main supplier of hevea latex, which was collected through
tapping of trees in the natural forest.
Rubber seedlings smuggled out of Brazil became the parent planting stock for all rubber
plantations developed in present-day Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries at the turn
of the twentieth century. Rubber has since been planted in a number of tropical countries as a
plantation crop. The most important rubber producers today are in Southeast Asia. Today
Brazil plays an insignificant role in international markets (Table 1).
Tapping of rubber trees starts in the fifth to seventh year after planting and then continues for
25 to 30 years. A special knife is used to incise the bark so as to wound the resin canals
without damaging the cambium.
After 30 years a decline in latex production makes further tapping of the trees uneconomic.
The trees are then removed and replaced with new seedlings. In the past, felled rubber trees
were either burnt on the spot or used as fuel for locomotive engines, brick burning or latex
curing.
A 30-year old cultivated rubber tree is about 30 m tall with an average branch-free bole of
3 m. The diameter at breast height (dbh) may reach about 30 cm. The stem tends to taper.
Young rubber trees have a smooth brown-green bark. The constantly tapped portions of the
stem may develop, with age, a latex-smeared cortex.
Available log volume for diameters above 15 cm ranges from 52 m
3
ha
-1
to 162 m
3
ha
-1
(assessed for nine cultivars by Gan et al. 1985); in assessments a figure of 100 m
3
ha
-1
is
normally used. The utilizable wood volume per hectare depends upon numerous factors such
as clone, site and management. Sawn timber recovery lies between 25 and 45 percent.
5
Rubberwoods favourable woodworking and timber properties make this medium-dense
timber (air-dry density 560650 kg m
-3
- Lee 1982) suitable for a wide scope of applications.
It can be easily steam-bent, or stained to resemble any other timber, depending on consumer
demand. Its favourable qualities and light colour make it a good substitute for ramin
(Gonystylus bancanus Baill.), a timber known for its quality in furniture making and other
applications. The natural colour of rubberwood is one of the principal reasons for its
popularity in J apan, where it is increasingly used to replace more traditional timbers, e.g.
Fagus spp. and Quercus spp., in a wide variety of applications.
Table 1. Plantation area of Hevea brasiliensis and available wood volume
Country 1975
(1000 ha)
1990
(1000 ha)
1997
(1000 ha)
% 1990*
mature
Rubberwood
volume
(million m
3
)
Indonesia 2 296 3 040/3 155
1
3 516
1
36 1 863 186.0
Thailand 1 496 1 860/1 844
1
1 966
1
20 1 500 150.0
Malaysia 1 694 1 837
1
1 635
1
17 1 614 161.4
China 120 603 592
1
India 224 451
1
533
1
306 3.0
Vietnam n.a. 200 275
1
Sri Lanka 228 199
1
163
1
146 1.5
Philippines n.a. 86 88
1
Myanmar n.a. 76 90
1
Cambodia n.a. 52 52
1
Asia total 6 058 8 503 8 910 92 5 429 543.0
Nigeria 247
1
247
2
Liberia 110
1
110
2
Cte dIvoire 67 67
2
Cameroon 41 41
1
D.R. Congo 40
1
40
2
Ghana 12 17
1
Others 11
1
11
2
Africa total 528 533 5.5
Brazil 197 180
1
Guatemala 26 38
1
Mexico 8 14
1
L. Amer. total 231 232 2.4
World 9 262 9 675 1 00 968.0
Source: IRSG, 1997
1
Source: IRSG, 1999
2
No data available for 1997.
2.2 Present status of the rubber plantation resource
About 80 percent of the 9.7 million ha of rubber plantations established worldwide for latex
production in 1999, are in Southeast Asia; 72 percent of the total (or 5.2 million ha) are in
Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand (IRSG 1999). With an overall area of more than 3.5 million
ha, Indonesia is now the worlds largest producer of natural rubber.
6
In 1990, 64 percent of the total area planted with rubber in Southeast Asia was overmature
(Table 1). In Malaysia alone the figure was over 85 percent of the plantations, with a total
available timber volume of 543 million m
3
, thus indicating a decrease in replanting over time
(Table 2). The total annual available volume of rubberwood in the area of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was estimated at about 17 million m
3
(Ser 1990).
However, only a small portion of this calculated volume was actually converted. From 1982
to 1992 rubberwood production figures for Malaysia increased from 30 000 m
3
to
1 872 000 m
3
(Malaysian Ministry of Primary Industries 1993).
Table 2. Area replanted with rubber trees in Malaysia (ha)
Year Rubber Other crops Total % rubber
1991 31 500 7 700 39 200 80
1992 33 000 8 400 41 400 80
1993 31 100 10 400 41 500 75
1994 26 100 12 800 38 900 67
1995 22.900 14 000 36 900 62
1996 21 600 13 000 34 600 61
1997 11 300 13 000 24 300 47
1998 9 100 11 000 20 100 46
Source: FDM Asia, 1999.
2.3 Economic and social importance of rubberwood
Rubberwood has traditionally been used as a cheap source of woodfuel in most of the
countries where rubber plantations are abundant, such as for industrial brick burning, tobacco
curing, or for fuelling of locomotive engines. Due to lack of durability, rubberwood was
rarely used as utility timber except in timber-scarce countries. After a number of problems
had been overcome with the help of applied research, particularly in connection with wood
seasoning and preservation but also related to the small size of logs, rubberwood developed as
one of the most successful export timbers of Southeast Asia.
Salleh (1984) reported 61 different products made from rubberwood. The most important uses
are: furniture and furniture parts, parquet, panelling, wood-based panels (particleboard,
cement and gypsum-bonded panels, medium-density fibreboard (MDF), kitchen and novelty
items, sawn timber for general utility and fuel.
Rubberwood has certain advantages over conventional timbers from the natural forest.
Because it is a plantation by-product, it is available at a relatively low cost. Thus in spite of its
comparatively low recovery rate, the production cost per cubic meter of rubberwood is only
about 30 percent of the production cost of meranti (Shorea spp) (Kollert and Zana 1994).
The most developed rubberwood sawing and downstream processing industries are located in
Peninsular Malaysia. In 1993, 116 stationary and 26 mobile sawmills i.e. 20 percent of total
Malaysian sawmills cut only rubberwood (MPI 1993). The production of rubberwood sawn
timber in Malaysia increased from 88 000 m
3
in 1990 to 137 000 m
3
in 1997. In addition,
rubberwood has been supplying a growing panel industry. At present, four particleboard
7
mills, four moulded particleboard mills and one wood cement board mill are in operation
(Forestry Department, Peninsular Malaysia 1998). Branches and sawmill offcuts have become
an important raw material particularly in the manufacture of MDF. In 1999, Malaysia had
nine MDF mills with 13 production lines using primarily rubberwood, with an overall
production capacity of 1.16 million m
3
per annum(MTC 1999).
Rubberwood is also still used for charcoal manufacturing and woodfuel.
The demand for, and popularity of, this timber and its products in traditional timber-importing
countries such as J apan and the United States stimulated the growth of the downstream
processing industry in Malaysia (Hong 1995). This growth in turn encouraged the
development of similar rubberwood processing industries in neighbouring countries,
particularly in Indonesia and Thailand. In Malaysia, rubberwood has outperformed some of
the traditional furniture timbers in export earnings. In 1994, exports of rubberwood furniture
brought in US$297 million, accounting for 70 percent of Malaysias furniture exports. In
1998, the country exported rubberwood furniture for a value of about US$683 million (Table
3).
Table 3. Exports of rubberwood furniture from Malaysia
(million US$)
YEAR VALUE
1991 74.2
1992 106.0
1993 197.1
1994 297.4
1995 352.4
1996 439.8
1997 532.7
1998 683.3
Source: Malaysian Timber Industry Board statistics cited in FDM
Asia, 1999.
Smallholders own most of the area planted in Southeast Asia (81 percent in Malaysia, 83
percent in Indonesia, and 95 percent in Thailand). These plantings are geographically
dispersed and accessibility is often poor.
Smallholders provide logs of lower quality than large estates as they devote less attention to
management and proper tapping practices. For example, in J ohore, Malaysia, only 18 percent
of the rubberwood logs harvested in smallholder areas were found suitable for sawn timber.
As a result, only 5 percent of the rubber tree wood volume available was converted into wood
products, the remainder being left behind in the plantations or burnt.
Transport costs of the logs are usually borne by the supplier. Because the prices of
rubberwood logs, particularly those of poor quality, are low, financial gains for smallholders
from log sales are negligible (Kollert and Zana 1994). Therefore smallholders often prefer to
burn the logs or let them rot in the plantation after felling. Hence a major portion of
industrially used rubberwood comes from large-scale plantations, where logs are of much
8
better quality, and, due to higher volume, better infrastructure and better organization, felling
and transport are less costly.
2.4 Outlook for rubberwood
Timber availability, extensive research and aggressive marketing have contributed towards
making rubberwood one of the most important export timbers in Southeast Asia, a substitute
for light tropical hardwoods and one of the major timbers for the production of furniture and
indoor building components.
The main reasons for success are its favourable timber and woodworking properties and the
relatively low cost of the raw material since rubberwood is an agricultural by-product. This
factor makes the timber highly competitive in comparison with timber from forest species that
have comparatively high raw material costs. An additional asset is its green aspect: rubber
trees have to be removed and the areas replanted once the latex yield has declined to
uneconomic levels. The acceptance of rubberwood as a sustainable, plantation-grown,
environmentally friendly timber has contributed to its universal appeal.
It can be safely assumed that market prospects for rubberwood will continue to be favourable.
This is also reflected by the increased overseas investments in the Southeast Asian
rubberwood industry. Rubberwood now has a position no other single tropical hardwood
species can match in terms of available volume. If we assumed that all plantations would be
available for wood production and that there was a normal distribution of age classes, then
the potential annual production could be up to 30 million m
3
of rubberwood logs.
With the increase in plantation area and research in improved hevea clones, which may yield
both high-quality latex and timber, prospects for a continuous supply of rubberwood seem to
be good.
However, it remains to be seen if the increased plantation area in Southeast Asia will be
sufficient to meet the industrial processing capacities built up regionally and nationally, and to
meet the markets growing demand for rubberwood products.
3 THE COCONUT PALM
3.1 The coconut resource
Cocos nucifera L., the coconut palm, is an agricultural crop widely spread through the tropics.
The species has been cultivated for 4000 years.
Traditionally found around hamlets in smaller stands to provide villagers with basic products,
coconut palms were planted at the end of the last century in larger plantations, especially in
the Pacific, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Asia, East Africa and the Caribbean for large-
scale copra production (Table 4). Based on their stem height, tall and dwarf varieties are
distinguished. Presently over 100 varieties are known, about half of them talls. All plantations
older than 40 years were planted with tall varieties. Once these tall palms, which can reach
9
stem heights above 20 m, are 5060 years old, their copra yield declines rapidly, and the
question of replacement arises. Removal of felled palms from the plantation site is necessary
to avoid the rhinoceros beetle (Oryctes rhinoceros) breeding in the decaying biomass and
from there attacking the young seedlings. When large-scale coconut replanting started in the
1960s, old palm stems had to be removed and destroyed at a cost. Acknowledging this
necessity, various coconut growing countries in the Asia-Pacific and Caribbean regions began
to investigate the economic disposal and use of the stems, and research on converting palm
stems commercially (e.g. into lumber) began. Although inappropriate because the resource is
a monocotyledonous plant, the term coconut wood has been established for the material
from the stem.
The anatomical properties of palm stems in general result in a rather inhomogeneous raw
material. Density and all related mechanical properties decrease considerably towards the
stem centre and over stem height (Killmann 1983). Other characteristics like high contents of
fine parenchymatous material and silica as well as high moisture content. Non durability does
not pose a problem for conversion of palm stems into lumber, but pose a problem for putting
the lumber into use. Due to its properties, coconut wood is difficult to process with
conventional tools (Killmann and Fink 1996). Since the material is also very inhomogeneous,
the sawn timber has to be graded according to its position in the stem, which reflects
properties and, subsequently, end-use. The lack of natural durability makes its use in
untreated form problematic, when exposed to weather conditions.
However, most of these problems have been overcome, partially with the assistance of FAO
and bilateral co-operation.
3.2 Present status of the coconut resource
In 1997 the total world area planted with coconut palms was about 12 million ha, more than
90 percent of which was in Asia (Table 4). Major coconut producers were Indonesia, the
Philippines and India. The data in Table 4 only include plantations, but not palm trees
growing in smaller stands around hamlets (trees outside forest).
On average, in 1993, about 30 percent of the plantations in the Asian countries were over-
aged while in the Pacific it was over 45 percent. There is considerable variability between
countries (Table 4).
The average stem volume is about 90 m
3
ha
-1
- 92 m
3
ha
-1
for the cultivar San Ramon Tall in
the Philippines, according to J ensen and Killmann (1981) and 88 m
3
ha
-1
for Fiji Tall
according to Alston (1981). In 1993 four Asian countries had over 65 million m
3
of available
coconut wood (Table 4).
3.3 Economic and social importance of coconut wood
In the Asia-Pacific region, most of the plantations are smallholdings (5070% on the Solomon
Islands, Fiji and the Philippines; and over 90% in India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand).
An exception is Papua New Guinea where under 40 percent of the palms are grown by
smallholders.
10
Table 4. Area of coconut palm plantations and availability of coconut wood
Country
1993
(1000 ha)
1997
(1000 ha)
1993
overmature
(%)
2
1993
overmature
(1000 ha)
Coconut
wood
3
(1000 m
3
)
Indonesia 3 636 3 760 20 727 65 400
Philippines 3 075 3 314 30 923 83 000
India 1 538 1 886 5 77 69 300
Sri Lanka 419 442 20 84 75 600
Thailand 336 377 35 118 10 600
Malaysia 310 270 60 186 16 700
Vietnam 215 200 n.a. n.a. n.a.
Rest Asia 64 65
1
n.a. n.a. n.a.
Asia Total 9 593 10 314 n.a. 2115 320 600
Papua New Guinea 260 260 30 78 7 000
Vanuatu 96 96 58 56 5 000
Fiji 65 54 43 28 2 500
Solomon Islands 59 59 50 30 2 700
Samoa 50 75 54 27 2 400
Rest Pacific 151 152
1
average 45 68 6 100
Pacific Total 681 696 n.a 287 25 700
Tanzania 305 310
1
40 122 10 900
Rest Africa 141 350
1
n.a n.a n.a.
Africa Total 446 460
1
n.a n.a. n.a.
Brazil 228 258
1
n.a. n.a. n.a.
Mexico 141 135
1
n.a n.a. n.a.
Rest America 79 83
1
n.a. n.a. n.a.
America Total 448 476
1
n.a. n.a. n.a.
World 11 168 11 974 2 524 375 200
Source: APCC, 1998. Compiled frominformation provided by APCC and FAO member countries.
1
1996 data, in APCC 1998.
2
Killmann, 1993.
3
J ensen and Killmann, 1981.
There are a number of products traditionally provided by the coconut palm, like roofing
material (from leaves), ropes and strings (coir from husk), beverages (coconut juice, toddy
from inflorescences), food (coconut, palm heart), fuel (from husks, nuts and dried leaves), and
wood (from the stem). The main produce, however, is oil pressed out of copra, the dried
kernel of the nut.
In the early 1900s copra was a major plantation product, and coconut palmoil a major export
product for many countries. The introduction of hybrids, particularly the dwarf varieties
during the 1960s and 1970s, helped to increase considerably the copra yield per hectare. The
importance of coconut palmoil subsequently decreased due to competition from other
vegetable oils, particularly palm oil from Elaeis guineensis. Copra prices went down and
11
plantations were neglected or under-planted with other crops. While the importance of
coconut palms as a plantation crop has decreased, its relevance as provider of products for
daily needs remains, particularly on remote islands.
Initially coconut palm stems generally became available for conversion into timber once
hurricanes or diseases (e.g., cadang-cadang in Guam and the Philippines, lethal yellowing in
the Caribbean) had struck. The stems were converted into wood products at cottage level
often in very rough form and used as a substitute for conventional timber in building and
bridge construction, but also for tools, toys and other items of daily necessity. In the
Maldives, coconut wood has been traditionally used for building fishing boats.
With entire plantations becoming over-aged and being felled, and processing problems having
been solved, commercial use of coconut wood started during the 1970s. Depending on its
original position in the stem, the main potential end-uses for coconut wood are for wooden
construction, panelling, stairs, window and door jambs, flooring and power poles.
As is the case in other plantation by-products like rubberwood or oil palm stems, coconut
palm stems have no costs except those for harvesting and transport. Theoretically, plantation
companies should even pay for the palm stem removal, or at least give them away for free,
since the disposal of old stems also removes a threat of insect attack to the young seedlings.
Thus, low raw material prices more than balance additional processing costs and make
coconut wood an interesting timber substitute for certain end-uses.
Also, being a by-product from agricultural plantations established long before the
environmental discussion started, the use of coconut wood is not marred by any accusations
of contributing towards degradation or destruction of tropical forests. It thus stands a good
chance as a substitute for some tropical timbers on the markets in Europe and North America.
There have been a number of attempts to market coconut wood internationally, however with
little success up to now. The main problem is that the suppliers could rarely guarantee a
continuous supply of certain wood volumes of standard quality.
Since in the Philippines coconut wood is available at half the price of white Lauan
(Parashorea spp., Shorea spp. Pentacme contorta), it could become the construction material
for the poor.
3.4. Outlook for coconut wood
During the period 19931997, in spite of the strong competition by other vegetable oils,
major producers like Indonesia and the Philippines increased their coconut palm plantation
area by 5 percent and 8 percent, respectively. In India the coconut estate grew 22 percent. It
can be safely assumed that in any planting high copra yielding hybrids will have been used.
There is also a trend to grow the palms for the production of coconut water. These hybrids are
of little interest as a timber substitute as the stems cannot be sawn. In the long run they could
become of interest as raw material for reconstituted wood products.
More than 300 million m
3
of coconut wood from the tall varieties are available in Asia alone,
which at an assumed yield of 25 percent would produce about 75 million m
3
of sawn wood.
12
Coconut wood has two advantages that can make it an interesting timber substitute for certain
end-uses. It has low raw material cost and a green image being a plantation by-product. Thus
there has been an increasing interest in this resource on the European and North American
markets. However, due to the lack of a sustainable raw material supply, coconut wood has not
established itself, as yet, on the international markets.
However, despite its international acceptance, its use is expected to increase
on remote islands and in areas with timber shortage (Pacific islands, Zanzibar);
in developing countries that are net timber importers (Sri Lanka);
in rural areas in the tropics;
as export wood to meet demands in niche markets in industrialized countries.
4 THE AFRICAN OIL PALM
4.1 The oil palm resource
As its name Elaeis guineensis J acqu. indicates, the oil palms original habitat is in West
Africas tropical forests. Unlike E. guineensis, its closest relative, the American oil palm
(Elaeis oleifera (Kunth.), has never gained economic importance.
The African oilpalm traditionally supplied the rural populations in West Africa with vegetable
fat and oil, palm wine and some regionally important non-wood forest products. During the
sixteenth century it found its way with the slave trade to Brazil, but was only introduced, as
an ornamental plant, to Southeast Asia in the nineteenth century.
During the twentieth century oil palm became an important plantation crop, providing palmoil
from its mesocarp, and palm kernel oil from its nuts. In 1999 total oil production reached
nearly 19 million tons.
The by-products of palmoil production in the plantation are palm fronds (through pruning)
and palm stems after replanting, while at the palmoil mill there are nutshells, empty fruit
bunches, pressed mesocarp fibres, and palm oil mill effluents (POME). Palm fronds are used
for mulching and the mill by-products are burnt to generate energy for the mill.
Oil palms are grown on a 2530 year rotation before being removed and replanted. At felling
the average palm has reached a height of 1215 m with a stem diameter at breast height of 45
cm. An average 30-year old oil palm has a stem volume of about 1.6 m
3
(Khozirah et al.
1991).
After felling palm stems are mostly shredded on the spot, dried, and either left to decay or
burnt. Disposal is a cost and decaying stems often leads to insect infestations, with added
expenses.
In the 1980s Malaysia, which is the worlds largest palmoil producer, started research on oil
palm stem utilization. As with other palms, the physical and mechanical properties are
distributed very unevenly over the stem. They are far inferior to those of the coconut palm
stem. This may be partly due to their relatively young age when felled. Furthermore oil palm
stems have a high moisture content (up to 500 percent), and high percentage of parenchymatic
13
tissue, rich in free sugars and starch. Due to these characteristics, oil palm stems are even
more prone to fast degradation than coconut palm stems.
4.2 Present status of the oil palm resource
The total world plantation area under oil palm covers about 6 million ha, of which nearly half
is in Malaysia, and almost 80 percent in Asia (Table 1). Between 1996 and 1999 the area
planted increased by 18 percent.
Table 5. Plantation area of oil palms
Country 1996
(1000 ha)
1999
(1000 ha)
% Stem material
(million tons)
Malaysia 2 692 3 313
1
45 1 211
Indonesia 1 350 1 807 30 405
Thailand 140 155 36
Rest Asia 27 35 8
Total Asia 3 818 4 692 78 1 660
Pacific 70 76 18
Nigeria 352 358 84
Ivory Coast 160 159 37
Rest Africa 216 218 51
Total Africa 728 735 12 173
Colombia 118 128 30
Ecuador 87 100 24
Rest L. America 135 149 35
L. America total 340 377 6 89
Rest world 94 102 24
World 5 050 5 982 1 940
Sources: Oil World Annual, 1999
1
Department of Statistics 2000
At felling and with a stocking of 128-165 palms per hectare, some 205264 m
3
(average 235
m
3
) of palm stem material becomes available for use. The average annual replanting
programme in Malaysia alone is about 4 500 ha, with a potential production of about 1.1
million m
3
per year

of stems.
4.3 Economic and social importance of oil palm fibres
The rapid increase in plantation area in Malaysia, e.g. between 1970 and 1999 from 300 000
ha to 3.3 million ha, indicates the economic importance of this plantation crop and the
growing world demand for palmoil.
The site requirements of oil palm and rubber are similar but rubber production is more labour
intensive than palmoil production. Many plantation companies in Southeast Asia, particularly
14
in Malaysia, have shifted from growing rubber to oil palms due to the demand for vegetable
oils, sinking prices for natural rubber and increasing labour costs.
In the main oil palm growing countries, Malaysia and Indonesia, most of the plantation area is
owned and managed by large companies. For example, in 1999 in Malaysia, nearly 60 percent
of plantations were on private estates, about 30 percent in co-operatively managed schemes,
and only 10 percent were owned by smallholders. However, even with the private estates
entire villages depend on the plantations, since the companies have often employed families
for a generation.
4.4 Outlook for oil palm fibre products
Oil palm by-products such as kernel shells, pressed fibres and empty fruit bunches have
established uses in heat generation. In Malaysia an MDF plant based on oil palm fruit bunches
is in operation with a daily production capacity of 55 m
3
. Palm fronds from the plantations are
also burnt for heat generation, or used for mulching in the plantations. Palmoil mill effluents
may have a future for biogas generation.
The palm stems available at replanting are the largest biomass by-product of palmoil
production. In Southeast Asia alone, over 1.6 billion m
3
are expected to become available in
the years to come. However, their economic utilization is still undetermined. The properties of
the oil palm stem make it an unlikely substitute for conventional timber products like sawn
timber. In spite of its availability at no raw material costs, costs of transportation, seasoning
(high moisture content) and segregation of the stem material, combined with its low recovery
rate and low durability, do not favour its economic utilization (Killmann and Woon 1990).
Therefore, particularly in the largest producer country, Malaysia, considerable research has
begun on more unconventional uses for oil palm stems. Studies range from cattle food to
ammonia plastification, from converting stems into particleboard, cement and gypsum-bonded
panels to MDF (Killmann 1993). The latter is the first of the technical processes developed at
the laboratory level to be implemented in an industrial scale. An MDF plant based on oil palm
stem material is presently being built in Malaysia.
In the long run oil palm stems will find their way into industrial utilization even if just
because of the sheer volume of biomass available. However, this will be mainly in the form of
fibre-based panels or reconstituted fibre. Considering their poor properties and the fact that 75
percent of the worlds oil palm plantations grow in the two major Asian timber producing
countries, where timber from forests is still abundant, it is unlikely that oil palm stem material
will become an important substitute for solid timber.
5 CONCLUSIONS
Of all tree species originally grown for non-wood purposes, rubber, coconut and oil palm are
planted most extensively. The area under coconut, rubber and oil palm is currently about
12.0, 9.7 and 6.0 million hectares, respectively. All grow in the humid tropics and have their
biggest concentrations in Asia. All three are grown principally for other products rather than
wood and so when mature and the stands need replacing the stems are available for other
industries at minimal cost.
15
Only for rubberwood stems has a well established industry and a major international market
developed. Rubberwood is extensively used for a variety of purposes ranging from furniture
through to woodfuel. Coconut wood from the older taller varieties is sawn and the low-grade
utility timber is used on a small scale. The newer small varieties have no potential as sawn
timber. Oil palm is of even lower quality than coconut wood and currently unused.
However, because of the considerable volumes available, all three will probably be utilized
more in the future. The best outlook is for rubberwood.
REFERENCES
Alston, A. S. 1981. The J ICA aerial survey of the coconut stem resource on Taveuni Island,
Fiji. The Proceedings, Coconut Wood 1979, Manila, 1981:63.
APCC (Asian and Pacific Coconut Community). 1998. Coconut Statistical Yearbook 1997,
J akarta.
Department of Statistics, 2000. Kuala Lumpur.
FDM Asia. 1999. The future of rubberwood. November/December: 45-48.
Forestry Department, Peninsular Malaysia. 1998. Annual Report. Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia.
Gan, L.T., Ho, C.E. & Chew, O.K. 1985. Heveawood: sawntimber production and recovery
studies. Paper presented at the International Rubber Conference, Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia, 1985.
Hong, L.T., 1995. Rubberwood utilization. A success story. Paper presented at the XX
IUFRO World Congress, 6.-12.08.1995, Tampere, Finland, 8 pp.
ISRG (International Rubber Study Group). 1997. World Rubber Statistics Handbook,
Vol.5, 1975-1995. Wembley, United Kingdom.
ISRG. 1999: Rubber Statistical Bulletin, Vol.53 (9). Wembley, United Kingdom..
Jensen, P. & Killmann, W. 1981. Production costs of sawn coconut timber. The
Proceedings, Coconut Wood 1979, Manila, 1981:208.
Khozirah Shaari, Khoo, K.C. & Abd. Razak, M.A. (eds.). 1991. Oil palm stem utilization.
Research Pamphlet No.107. Kepong. Forest Research Institute Malaysia.
Killmann, W. 1983. Some physical properties of the coconut palm stem. Wood Science and
Technology Journal 17:167-85.
Killmann, W. 1993. Struktur, Eigenschaften und Nutzung wirtschaftlich wichtiger Palmen.
PhD. Thesis, Hamburg, 213 pp.
Killmann, W. & Fink, D. 1996. Coconut palm stem processing. A technical handbook.
Protrade, GTZ, Eschborn, Germany, 204 pp.
Killmann, W. & Woon W. Ch. 1990. Costs of extraction and transportation of oil palm
stems. FRIM Reports No.54. Kepong. Forest Research Institute Malaysia. pp.13-26.
Kollert, W. & Zana, A.U. 1994. Rubberwood from agricultural plantations: a market
analysis for Peninsular Malaysia. The Planter, 70: 435-452.
Lee, Y.H. et al. 1982. Malaysian timbers Rubberwood. Malaysian Forest Service Trade
Leaflet No. 58. FRI, Kepong, Malaysia. (Reprint).
MPI (Malaysian Ministry of Primary Industries). 1993. Statistics on commodities. Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia.
MTC (Malaysian Timber Council). 1999. Malaysian Timber Bulletin, 5 (9):9-12. Kuala
Lumpur.
Oil World Annual 1999. Internationale Statistische Agrarinformationen. Hamburg.
Salleh, M.N. 1984. Heveawood Timber of the future. The Planter, 60(702): 370-381.
16
Ser, C.S. 1990. Rubberwood resource in ASEAN and the potential for its wider utilization. In
L.T. Hong et al., eds Proceedings of the International Rubberwood Seminar, Kuala
Lumpur, 21-22.5.1990 p. 27-39. Kuala Lumpur, Forest Research Institute Malaysia.
17
FAO - Forestry Department
List of Working Papers on forest plantation: Thematic Paper Series
Working Paper FP/1: Mean Annual Volume Increment of Selected Industrial
Species. Ugalde L. and Perez O. April 2001.
Working Paper FP/2: Biological Sustainability of Productivity in Successive
Rotations. Evans J . March 2001.
Working Paper FP/3: Plantation Productivity. Libby W.J . March 2001.
Working Paper FP/4: Promotion of Valuable Hardwood Plantations in the Tropics. A
Global Overview. Odoom F.K. March 2001.
Working Paper FP/5: Plantations and Wood Energy. Mead D.J . March 2001.
Working Paper FP/6: Non-Forest Tree Plantations. Killmann W. March 2001.
Working Paper FP/7: Role of Plantations as Substitutes for Natural Forests in Wood
Supply Lessons learned from the Asia-Pacific Region.
Waggener T. March 2001.
Working Paper FP/8: Financial and Other Incentives for Plantation Establishment.
Williams J . March 2001.
Working Paper FP/9: The Impact of Forest Policies and Legislation on Forest
Plantations. Perley C.J .K. March 2001.
Working Paper FP/10: Protecting Polantations from Pests and Diseases. Ciesla W.M.
March 2001.
Working Paper FP/11: Forestry Out-Grower Schemes: A Global View. Race D. and
Desmond H. March 2001.
Working Paper FP/12: Plantations and Greenhouse Gas Mitigation: A Short Review.
Moura-Costa P. and Aukland L. March 2001.
Working Paper FP/13: Future Production from Forest Plantations. Brown C. March
2001.